The Full Moon's Cry
by ashalay.marie.Collins
Summary: Claire Danvers and her friends had always been attracted to trouble. From Bishop, to the draug, Claire and her gang had been through it all. But after defeating their last known enemy, Morganville settles down. But trouble stirs when a group of newcomers come to town with a mysterious secret. What happens when they threaten Claire and her friends?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone! This happens to be my first fanfic! I really enjoy The Morganville Vampires series, and plan to carry the characters just as they do in the books! Please R/R and give me constructional criticism—I would absolutely love it! Anywho, this story is most obviously (due to the description) between Shane and Claire. But keep in mind it is not **_**just **_**about these two. I may however switch point of views of the characters. (i.e. Shane, Eve, Michael, etc.)**

**Chapter 1: **

Strong arms encircled Claire Danvers suddenly as she stared curiously out of the front windows of The Glass House. She yelped and immediately relaxed as she smelled the dark, masculine smell of her boyfriend.

"Jumpy much?" Shane murmured in her ear.

His voice was like velvet and it melted her insides. She smiled to herself and slowly turned in the circle of Shane's arms. She tilted her head up and looked into his deep, brown eyes. He slowly brought his lips to hers in a warm, good-morning kiss. It was deep and filled with passion that eventually led to hunger. Claire broke away with a gasp.

"That was one good morning kiss," she managed.

"For one hell of a girl," Shane added with a grin.

The sunlight pouring in from the windows had reached Shane and her. It brought out a lovely glint in his eyes, a shimmer to his hair, and his skin looked as if it were glowing in the early morning night. _At least it's not burning_, she thought. Any normal person wouldn't have thought this, but Claire wasn't normal—not anymore, at least. When she was sixteen, she'd come to Morganville, Texas to attend Texas Prairie University, otherwise known as TPEwww (TPU). Little did she know, Morganville was teeming with bloodthirsty, crazy, evil vampires.

Of course she'd learned that not _all_ of the vampires were evil. Michael, for example—her housemate/landlord and best friend—was still his caring, somewhat angelic self. There was also Myrnin, her crazy, mostly insane, intelligent boss. He'd saved her plenty of times, but could also lose his mind every now and again. Sam, Michael's grandfather, had also been kind. However, he had been dead for quite some time now.

Claire herself has had quite a few incidents with the evil vampires of Morganville. More than once she has been forced to plunge a stake into a vampire's chest for her own safety. She even had scars to confirm the dangers of living in Morganville. But there was one slight problem.

You couldn't leave.

If you were able to leave Morganville on your own, the town would surely be a ghost town. Save, of course, the college students and select vampires. Shane had escaped once after family issues. But he'd returned for the sake of their undead friend Michael.

Undead.

The thought of it still forced a shudder to creep down Claire's spine. Shane must have noticed and frowned.

"You cold? Something wrong?" He inquired.

"No and no. Everything is fine," she said with a smile.

_Well, as fine as it'll ever be,_ she thought. There wasn't a day that went by here in Morganville, that a predicament hadn't sprung. But that was just the typical day for The Glass House residents. Trouble was just attracted to them like a vampire to blood.

"So what were you looking at anyway?" Shane asked peering out the window.

"I thought I saw someone," Claire said, "but it's not important."

Shane tensed, "You don't mean the drau—"

She cut him off, "No, no, of course not. We killed them; that's a fact. It was just a person. Don't worry about it though, Shane. Everything is fine."

He eyed her curiously and eventually shrugged. The tension in his muscles and relaxed, holding up his hands as if in surrender.

"If you say so, babe," he said. "I think I'd better get me some breakfast. Want anything?"

"Coffee would be nice," she said with a small smile.

"Alright," Shane stated.

He padded barefoot to the kitchen to retrieve her coffee and whatever else Shane was planning to devour. It was likely he would come back with a _pot _of cereal. Claire sighed and looked out the window across the street once more. The man she had seen had seemed to be an ordinary pedestrian, but in Morganville, you could never be sure. She ran a hand through her tousled mess of hair, which was growing to lengths she'd never let it before. As if reading her mind, Eve piped in.

"Hey CB, your hair's getting really long."

Claire jumped, eyes widening. She stared at Eve and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Eve was grinning, a purple curve on her rice powdered face. Claire noticed she'd been favoring the color purple lately, and it showed in her outfit. She had on a complicated looking black corset with a poofy, purple tutu. Underneath her loud tutu were black and purple vertically striped tights, which led to shiny, black platform shoes with many buckles.

"Jeez, someone's jumpy," Eve said.

_I really am, _Claire thought to herself.

"Yeah, I'm kind of tired. I didn't get much sleep last night," Claire admitted.

"What, did you stay up studying last night?"

"Hey! I may be a nerd, but that's not always the case," Claire defended.

Claire blushed, because in all reality, that _had _been the case. She had an insane—supposedly difficult—test in physics today. Her eyes widened. She checked the time on the cable box and saw that it read 7:45. Her Physics class started in fifteen minutes.

"Oh _crap,_" Claire exclaimed.

She darted for the stairs as Eve called after her. Whatever it was she was saying, Claire wasn't listening. She couldn't miss another test, not in this lifetime. The last time she'd missed a test, she'd had to get a note from the Founder herself just to take the test at all. She raced down the hall to the last room—her room. She threw open the door, and tore off her pajamas. She traded it for a plain white tee and low-rise blue jeans. She slipped on her tennis shoes and slung her heavy backpack over her shoulder.

She ran all the way down the stairs, nearly tripping over her own two feet. Eve was lounging on the couch in all her gothic glory, flipping through some magazine Michael had probably left out. She threw it aside in distaste.

"Ick. All of these gamer magazines are about… games. Like, seriously? What a waste of paper," Eve stated.

Nope, that was definitely a Shane magazine.

"No time to talk, I gotta go," Claire said in a rush.

"Now where do you think you're going, CB?"

As Claire looked at Eve, she'd noticed she'd somehow gotten to her feet in those gigantic platform shoes without making a sound. However, she'd been dressing like so for years, and had probably had practice. She also noticed that Eve's hands had found their way to her hips and planted themselves there. This was a classic Eve pose.

"I have to get to school. Uh, mind if I borrow your … uh, car?"

Claire hesitated on calling it a car because, in all reality, it wasn't. In the sense that it can get you places, sure, it was a car.

"Oh, I guess. But you better be out soon. I have work at three, and don't hurt Fate," Eve said and tossed her keys to Claire.

Claire fumbled to catch the keys, and surprised herself when she hadn't let them touch the ground. Claire gave a small smile and a nod in thanks and rushed for the kitchen. There, she bumped into Shane. Her coffee mug flung from his hands and spilled in a dark brown wave onto Shane. Something was stuffed in his mouth—most likely food—and he mumbled around it. It was something inaudible and Claire quickly kissed him on the cheek.

"Sorry!" She called on her way out.

She lifted her wrist to check the time on her watch. Oh boy, five minutes till class. She could maybe make it if she broke a few laws. She fumbled for the keys, nearly dropping them, and unlocked Eve's hearse. It was in fact a hearse. A cool, decked out hearse that they'd bought on their road trip to Dallas.

She slid into the front seat and started up the beast of a vehicle. It took her only minutes to zoom out of the driveway and she headed for the university.

* * *

Claire barely made it to class on time. She ran desperately through the classroom door to the first empty seat. Just as she sat down, the bell rang, a loud shrill sound. Claire sighed in relief and wiped sweat from her brow. The teacher entered the room, only it wasn't the teacher. Claire's eyebrows knitted into a small V. Who was he?

Claire wasn't the only one wondering this. Some of the students around her had confused expressions playing about their faces. One kid at the front cleared his throat and the scruffy looking man gazed at him. Claire noticed his eyes were an unsettling gold.

"Uh, Sir? Where's our teacher?" The boy asked.  
"Oh, _I'm _your teacher now. Your other one…well, he retired," the teacher said.

The way he said that made a shiver run down Claire's spine. Something dark and twisted seemed to hide behind his words. Claire studied him. His hair was neatly cut and auburn, his skin was rather tan, (not unusual for Texans) and he had on a smooth button-up and casual blue jeans. He was actually fairly attractive, probably in his early twenties.

"How do you just retire mid-term?" Claire spoke up.

The man looked at her and Claire suppressed a shiver. The man was intimidating, and Claire found it hard to not flinch under his heavy stare. His eyes narrowed and he licked his lips.

"This is none of your concern, Ms. Danvers," the man said.

Claire recoiled a bit. _How the hell did he know my name? _she thought. Well, he _was _her teacher, and he most likely had the student list. _Of _course _he has the student list, what am I thinking? And what the hell is that supposed to mean? _Claire shook off the eerie feeling and settled into her chair, sitting up straight.

"My name is Mr. Sage, and I am most obviously you're new physics teacher," Mr. Sage told the class.

"Uh, Mr. Sage? What about our test we had today?"

"Oh, it's called off. Today we'll learn something different," Mr. Sage said with a wicked smile.

Class moved by slowly, and the bell finally rang. Claire swallowed and collected her things. She slung her backpack over her shoulders and walked towards the teacher's desk. Claire cleared her throat when she noticed Mr. Sage wasn't looking at her.

He looked up at her, his blue eyes sparkling. Claire gasped. _Since when were they blue? I'm probably just imagining things._ She shook her head and managed a small smile.

"Sorry if I came off rude, or anything," Claire apologized.

"Not a problem, Ms. Danvers. I see you're an outstanding student," Mr. Sage said.

"Thanks," Claire blushed.

Claire's eyes looked down in embarrassment and found their way to the man's forearm. A tribal tattoo—all swirls and slashes, and odd angles—was here. It was plain and black, and it made Claire's eyes burn.

"Cool tattoo," Claire put in.

Mr. Sage pulled down his rolled up sleeves and glared at Claire. She swallowed and she could feel her heart rate accelerate. _Why am I scared? He's a human, I shouldn't be scared. _But Claire couldn't help but feel fear close around her. She gave Mr. Sage a bleak smile, nodded, and bolted for the door.

* * *

Claire finished the rest of the day's classes and trudged to the big hearse. It wasn't hard finding it in the student parking lot due to it being so large. Claire started it up and drove cautiously back to Lot Street. She pulled into the driveway around noon. She hurried up the steps, grabbing the mail on her way, and opened the door.

As soon as it was closed, she locked the dead bolt and door knob. This was standard and basic survival in Morganville. She dropped the keys onto a side table and dropped her backpack.

"I'm home!" She called.

"I'm alive!" Eve shouted somewhere from the living room.

Claire walked to the living room, a small smile playing about her lips. She found Eve lounging on the couch eating chocolate. She popped up when Claire entered the room, much like an energetic Goth bunny. She had a smile on her face and a humorous glint in her eyes.

"Hey, Claire Bear, how was that test you _studied_ for?" She asked with a wink.

"Actually, it didn't go at all," Claire stated.

"Wait, so you _actually _had a test?" Eve asked with wide, raccoon eyes.

"Yes, Eve, I had a test. But I have a new teacher he's actually really freaky," Claire said.

"Oooh, what's his name? Is he hot?"

"Uh, he's cute, but I'm telling you, he's really creepy. His name is Mr. Sage. He had some weird tattoo, too. It looked kind of tribal."

"Huh. That is weird."

The kitchen door busted open and Shane came through carrying two cans of ice-cold Coke. He gave Claire a wide grin that left Claire with a tingling feeling. His eyes were bright and he walked to her, handing her one of the two Cokes.

"One for my lady, and one for me," he said.

He peeled back that tab and chugged the Coke. He crushed the can in his hands after a moment and threw it aside. He then hugged Claire from behind as she stood talking to Eve. He bent down and kissed her cheek and Claire found herself blushing.

"Hey, what about me?" Eve whined.

"Get one yourself, Gothica," Shane said with a smirk.

"Jackass," Eve said and flipped him off.

Shane grinned boyishly as Eve walked to the kitchen. Claire turned in his arms, just as she had this morning, and stood on her tiptoes 'til their lips met. It was a long, sweet kiss, and neither of them pulled away for a few long seconds.

"How was school?" Shane asked.

"Uh, it was okay," Claire said.

"So, was it worth spilling your coffee all over me?"

"Definitely not. I'm bored got anything fun to do?"

"Wanna slaughter some zombies? I'll let you win," Shane said with puppy dog eyes.

"Hmm, unfortunately, that's not what I had in mind," Claire said with a playful smirk.

"Oh," Shane said huskily.

And with that, Shane chased Claire up the stairs, tickling her, all the way to his room.

**A/N: Hey readers, this is just one last note. I'll most likely have chapter 2 up in the next two days. I'm already working on it, so it may be done sooner. **** Anywho, R/R please! I'd love to hear your thoughts on my story so far!—anything to help me improve! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everyone! I know the formatting on my last chapter had been a little screwy, so I'll work on that. Thanks to those of you who have R/R! I love you guys. (: Anywho, this is chapter two! Sorry, I may have procrastinated just a tad. Happy New Year! (: **

Chapter 2:

Claire woke up the next morning in a sleepy daze. The sun shone in through the windows and bathed Shane's bed with a pale glow. Shane groaned next to her and she turned towards him. His hair was a tousled mess and his cheeks were flushed. Claire smiled warmly at him.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Good-morning, beautiful," he told her with his signature grin.

Claire's stomach did a flip and she looked down, embarrassed. Her eyes trailed down to his chest, which—to her delight—was bare. The definition in his muscles was obvious here, and she felt a tingling sensation deep within. Her eyes followed the defined muscles to his abs, which weren't quite covered by the blankets and sheets. A trail of hairs started at his lower abs, which led to….

"What're you looking at?" Shane asked.

Claire's eyes widened and she looked down at the sheets, once again, in embarrassment. Her cheeks were flushed to a deep, deep red and she knew it. _Why did I make it so obvious? Stupid, Claire, stupid stupid stupid, _she scolded herself. She heard Shane give a deep chuckle.

"Jeez, Claire, you're like the color of tomatoes right now," Shane exclaimed.

Claire's blush deepened, "Don't make fun of me."

Shane raised his brows at her. He pulled her closer, closing the distance between them that Claire had secretly dreaded. He smoothed her hair back and kissed her forehead. She snuggled in his arms closely and breathed in his scent. It was a dark, spicy, masculine scent that made a delicious shiver creep slowly down Claire's spine.

"Hey, you look adorable," Shane whispered in her ear.

Claire smiled, "I should get up."

"Aww, come on. Just stay with me today. You leave too much," Shane whined.

"If we don't get up now, we won't ever get up. And you have work," Claire put in.

"Eh, who cares? I'd rather be here with you," Shane said huskily.

Claire bit her lip, contemplating her options. She smiled and kissed Shane on the lips. His lips were a little dry, but with a lick of Claire's tongue, they immediately softened. The kiss deepened and Claire gasped into his mouth. Shane kissed her with a feverish want, and the only word Claire could use to describe it was _hot_.

The kiss eventually broke and Claire looked into Shane's eyes. A dangerous look of lust bloomed in the dark, chocolate-like pools. Claire was dangerously close to staying there, burrowed in the safety of his arms, but sense kicked her in the stomach. She sighed and rolled away from Shane before he could convince her not to go. She surely would've stayed if he'd given her the puppy-dog eyes.

"Not fair," Shane called as Claire hurried for the door.

She called for the bathroom. As she showered, she ran through what her plans were for the day. Considering it was Saturday, Claire wasn't needed in Myrnin's lab—thank all that is holy for that. School wasn't really an option due to the fact that, well, it was Saturday.

As school crossed Claire's mind, she suddenly remembered the curious teacher—Mr. Sage. The tattoo on his arm was especially weird. It made an eerie, dangerous feeling wash over Claire. It looked almost tribal. Suddenly the shower didn't seem so warm, and Claire began to shiver. Claire turned the water off and hopped out, wrapping a short towel around her damp body.

"Crap," she exclaimed.

_I brought no clothes. How did I forget clothes? _Claire sighed in utter exasperation and braced herself for a run to her room. It wasn't too far away, but it was far enough. Claire whimpered, and took a tight hold where the ends of her towel met. No way in hell was she going to let this towel fall.

She flung open the door, noticing Shane was just now exiting his room, and ran to her room. Shane was standing still, leaning against his door frame. His eyes followed Claire all the way to her room, a trace of that same hunger lingering in his beautiful, brown eyes. His mouth quivered into a small smirk. Claire knew he was enjoying this lots more than she was. At the sight of him, she ran faster, her cheeks flushing a bright crimson. _How many times am I going to be embarrassed today? _she thought to herself. Adding to that, it was only 10 o' clock.

As she reached her room, she heard Shane call out, "Hey! Not fair!"

Claire smiled to herself and sighed in relief as she closed the heavy, wooden door. She slumped onto her bed. She realized she hadn't slept in here for two days. However, she didn't know the importance of this. She pulled on her undergarments and pulled on a blouse and low rise jeans. Socks and shoes weren't a necessity at the moment, so she ditched them. She ran a brush quickly through her hair and exited her room after doing a once-over in the mirror.

She headed down stairs and into the kitchen. Eve was in here, buzzing about. She had gotten out breakfast ingredients; pancake mix, eggs, packaged bacon, and other objects cluttered the counters. Claire raised her eyebrows in surprise—Eve never cooks. Although, this was mostly because Eve and everyone else on the planet knew she couldn't cook. Claire walked to Eve and smiled.

"Need any help?" She asked Eve.

Eve jumped, sending a package of bacon tumbling down to the floor. Eve glared at Claire and put her hands on her hips.

"Holy shit, CB, you scared me! I thought only Michael could pull that sneaky, vamp crap off. But yes, in answer to your question, I would like help," Eve ended calmly.

"Alright…Anything you want me to do specifically?"

"Well, if you know me, I'd want you to do…everything. But since I'm going to actually, truly attempt to cook, could you just scramble eggs?"

"I'm on it," Claire said reassuringly, saluting her.

She gave her the wicked grin she always flashed and turned back to her bacon. She picked it up off the floor and continued to read the package. She was probably just making sure that she didn't mess any of the directions up, so as not to screw up the meal. Eve started on the pancake mix now after setting the bacon package aside. She got out a mixing bowl and placed the proper ingredients in the bowl. As she went down the list she continued to get things out.

Eve walked to the fridge to get something, but she frowned and moved objects around. As she pushed aside ketchup and hot sauce bottles, she groaned loudly. She was whispering something obscene to herself now, Claire had noticed. Claire's brows knitted together.

"Shit," Eve exclaimed as she frantically moved around more objects.

"Something wrong?" Claire asked.

"Of course something's wrong. We have no butter, and I need it," she said while shaking her head.

After a few more moments of searching, she sat back on her heels and bit her lip. The determination that had shown in her posture and Goth-ified face was now gone. She looked almost…helpless. Claire stood there, lips pursed. Eve turned to her with puppy-dog eyes and pouting lips. The Goth makeup only exaggerated the expression, making it look all the more desperate.

"Claire… You love me right? I mean, I _am _your crazy, awesome, drop-dead gorgeous best friend," she said with the pouty look still plastered on her face.

Claire groaned; she knew what was coming. Eve was going to ask her to run out in this devilish morning just for an unnecessary container of butter. If she was lucky, Eve would give Claire her hearse. But you never knew with Eve.

"Will you run and get some butter for us? Please? Think of the pancakes, Claire," Eve was saying as if she were on one of those ASPCA commercials.

"Okay, I'll do it. One question, though."

"Yep?"

"Can I borrow your hearse?"

"She has a name, CB. It's Fate," Eve told her with a smirk.

_Yeah, okay, as if I'd want refer to a vehicle as a person, _Claire thought stubbornly to herself.

"Fine," Claire sighed.

Eve squealed and proceeded to do a little happy dance. Eve was known for this little dance of hers, and Claire just shook her head, suppressing a laugh. Eve collected herself and gave Claire the keys to Fate. Thankfully she _handed _them to her. This time Claire _definitely _hadn't dropped the keys.

"I'll be back soon," Claire told Eve.

Claire ran up the stairs to her room, retrieving her shoes, and pulled them on. She hurried back down the stairs, knowing it wouldn't be morning forever. She popped back into the kitchen bracing herself for thick smoke and burning food.

Eve had started on the bacon again, moving the pancake mix aside. She looked up with a serious look on her face as the bacon started to sizzle. Where had the seriousness come from so suddenly?

"No more than thirty minutes," Eve said.

"Ok, mom," Claire said sarcastically.

"I mean it, CB. I can't lose my best friend; not again."

Claire frowned. That wasn't how she'd wanted it to come out. Claire hadn't wanted Eve to remisce on horrifying memories from months ago. She walked over to Eve and gave her a quick, tight hug. Eve smiled then and continued on the hissing bacon. As Claire was walking out the door, she saw Eve jumping back from the stove and whimpering as grease attacked her.

"Damn bacon. You're not worth this pain," Eve whined to the skillet.

Claire just shook her head and laughed a little. She shut and locked the back door behind her and continued to the hearse. The sun was hot and the air was dry. Claire immediately felt the warmth wrap her in a blanket. She got into the car, rolling down the windows straight away. The window ruffled her hair as she drove into town. It wasn't a very long drive, and Claire made it to Food King within minutes.

Claire got out of the car and looked for the butter. She found the aisle quickly and shivered from the cold the freezers were giving off. She grabbed a container and quickly headed to the check out. As she was paying, something caught Claire's eye out the window. She looked up after grabbing her bag and saw Mr. Sage walking down the street. He wasn't clothed in anything heavy. _Thank God for that, _Claire thought. That completely ruled out the vampire idea completely. She walked out of the door with pursed lips. _Where was he going? _

As mysterious and seemingly dangerous as the man was, Claire couldn't help herself but follow. She got into her car and started it up with a steady rumble. She kept a slow pace on the man, considering her was moving fairly fast. Soon he was at the photo shop. _What was he doing there? _Claire stopped the car about two blocks down and got out of the car. She let Mr. Sage enter first, and then quickly sped up her pace. She reached the door and slipped inside quietly.

To hide herself, she hid behind shelves that were scattered about the store. Claire preoccupied herself with some ink cartridges. She acted as if she were surveying her options, when in all reality, she was eavesdropping.

"May I have a word?"

That was definitely Mr. Sage. Claire could tell this by the underlying accent that sounded quite strange. The store clerk, who was one of Captain Obvious's friends snorted. What did Mr. Sage want with him anyway?

"What the hell do you want," he was saying.

"I'd suggest you be more polite in my presence. Now…_ We're going to talk, _yes?"

There was a long silence and Claire peeked through the shelves. The store clerk was staring at Mr. Sage. There was a burning rage that sparked in his eyes. But just as a spark, it was there and gone. In its place was a look Claire had never seen pass through his eyes. He just nodded and the two headed back into the backroom. The clerk put up a sign on his desk.

NOT AVAILABLE AT THE MOMENT.

Well. This couldn't be good. Claire snuck to the counter and stood there. She could barely hear the conversation. It was already almost over.

"…Are you with me or not…," said Mr. Sage.

"…This…dangerous…Not sure," the clerk was saying.

_Dangerous? What was dangerous? _Claire was biting her lip now in confusion, straining to hear the two men conversing.

"But…live for danger…I thought…."

"That…True…I'm in…."

"Good…I'll be seeing you soon," Mr. Sage was saying.

The voices were getting louder and Claire's eyes widened in realization. They were coming back out into the store's front room. Claire didn't care how much sound she was making; she bolted for the door. Claire made out of the door before any of them had caught sight of her—at least she'd like to think.

Claire didn't stop there, though. She ran back to her car, casting looks over her shoulder all the while. She stopped and placed her hands on her knees, trying desperately to catch her breath. She looked up at the hearse which was now only a few industrial buildings down.

Claire gasped. _No no no no no no, _the words repeatedly pounded in her mind. _This can_not_ be happening! _The hearse was completely ruined. All of the windows, including the windshield, were all broken out. The paint job which had been pristine was now decorated with horrible scratches. The two back tires were popped and Claire already knew this wasn't a vampire's doing.

_Monica. _

Claire's blood was boiling hot beneath her skin. _I'm going to kill her. Oh God, Eve's going to kill me. Eve is going to kill me before I can kill Monica. _Claire sighed and trudged to the totaled car. She patted the door, half expecting it to fall off, and whispered to the car.

"Sorry, Fate."

Claire bit her lip and looked inside. There was a torn piece of paper sitting on the torn seats. It had bubbly handwriting and faintly smelled of vanilla. Claire picked it up and read it:

_Hey bitch, _

_ You should really learn how to lock your car. Karma is a bitch honey, and so am I. _

_Love, _

_Monica Morrel XoXo _

"Argh!" Claire exclaimed.

_I hate her. I hate her I hate her I hate _her, Claire kept thinking. Claire patted down her pockets in search of her phone. When she realized it wasn't on her, a sick feeling pitted in her stomach. She'd left it in the car.

Claire threw open the door and rummaged through the wreckage. She soon remembered she'd placed it in the glove box and hoped to God that Monica hadn't searched that deep. When she opened the little door, Claire saw stacks of paper, a few napkins, and—thank the Lord above—her phone. She sighed in relief and looked at the screen.

12 missed calls and 8 new text messages.

Crap. Claire had been gone for a little over an hour now. She quickly slid out the keyboard and typed out a text to Eve. They were coming to look for her, but she had to let them know she was alright.

"Car troubles?" A voice rang.

Claire jumped and squealed. She turned to the voice, hitting her head on vehicle's door frame in the process, and tensed when she saw Mr. Sage. He had a wicked smile and his eyes were gleaming unusually.

"Uh, yeah," Claire said.

"Hmm," Mr. Sage said.

Claire swallowed. She felt highly uncomfortable and couldn't help but sneak glances at his tattoo. What was it? Just then, she heard someone call her name. She turned to find Eve, Shane, and an irritated Michael rushing their way. As they drew closer, Claire offered them a wary, nervous, and ashamed smile.

"I got the butter," she squeaked.

"Oh. My. _God,_" Eve exclaimed and rushed to her hearse.

Her face had a look of absolute horror, and she took in the wreckage. Claire frowned and looked at her feet, feeling as if it were her fault. Eve whimpered and stroked the roof of the car sadly.

"My car. _Fate,_" she was whimpering.

"What happened?"

That was without a doubt Michael. He was staring at her with worried, piercing eyes as Shane jogged to where Claire was standing. He took her face into his hands as Claire answered. Like Michael's, his eyes were also dripping with worry.

"I'm okay. It was Monica," Claire croaked.

Shane sighed in relief and enveloped Claire in a hug. She slumped against him, overwhelmed with everything. He sighed once again and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm just glad you're okay," he said.

Michael was hugging a crying Eve and Claire felt terrible. She'd let this happen after all. She was following Mr. Sage. Speaking of which. Claire turned to where Mr. Sage had been standing, but there was no one there. Claire looked around in confusion and looked further down the streets. They were completely barren. She shook her head and turned back to her friends.

Eve had Monica's note in her hands and was shaking. The shaking was probably due to her anger more than anything else.

"Is she referring to herself as Karma? Because that's not even cute. I'll show her who the real bitch here is, and give her a slice of karma," Eve said engraged.

"I'm really sorry, Eve. You have every right to murder me personally," Claire offered.

"Oh no, I'm not killing you. Not before I'm killing that prissy, plastic, Barbie Doll of a _bitch_," Eve said.

_Oh, I'm so dead. _

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. I'll try to update sooner, alrighty? (: Well, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter! R/R please! Merci. (P.S. That's French for thank you.) **


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